The foreign tourist arrivals in India were up by 3 per cent in May and foreign exchange earnings rose by 9 per cent.

New Delhi, June 11/Nationalturk – In what could give some solace to India, whose currency Rupee slided further on Tuesday and breached 58.98 per dollar,  the foreign tourist arrivals in the country were up by 3 per cent in May and foreign exchange earnings rose by 9 per cent.

An official spokesman of Indian government said Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism increased by more than nine percent in May 2013 over May 2012. “Similarly, Foreign Tourist Arrivals ( FTAs) also went up by more than 3.2 percent in May 2013 as compared to May 2012”.

Giving break-up, the spokesman said foreign tourist arrivals in India during the month of May 2013 were 0.384 million as compared to FTAs of 0.372 million in May 2012 and 0.383 million in May 2011.

“There has been a growth of 3.2% in May 2013 over May 2012 as compared to a  negative growth of 3.1%  registered  in May 2012 over May 2011,” he said.

The spokesman said foreign exchange earnings (FEEs) of India in terms of US dollars during the month of May 2013 were US $ 1.109 billion as compared to US$ 1.023 billion during  May 2012 and US$ 1.124 billion in May 2011.

“The growth rate in FEEs in US$ terms in May 2013 over May  2012 was 8.4% as compared to the negative growth of 9.0% in May 2012 over May 2011,” he said.

He said foreign exchange earnings from tourism sector during January to May this year were US$ 7.993 billion with a growth of 9.5%, as compared to US$ 7.297 billion with a growth of  10.6 % during January-May 2012 over the corresponding period of 2011.

India’s Tourism Ministry compiles monthly estimates of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) on the basis of data received from major ports and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism on basis of data available from Reserve Bank of India.

Rupee continues to fall

The rupee on Tuesday fell by a whopping 74 paise to hit a new all-time low of 58.90 in mid-session trade on persistent dollar demand from importers and banks as well as heavy capital outflows amid weak local equities.

The rupee resumed lower at 58.35 against the dollar as against the last close of 58.16 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and dropped further to an all-time low of 58.90 per dollar.

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Faiz Ahmad / NationalTurk India News